Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.
Author's note: tullyfan expressed a desire for a Troy/Tully story. I'm in the mood for a little H/C.
The Best Laid Plans…
By Suzie2b
Troy looked at Moffitt and asked, "Got everything you need?"
The sergeant nodded. "I believe so. I'll go in, get the plans, and come out. I shouldn't be more than an hour."
"Try to make it less than an hour. I don't like doing these things during daylight hours."
"I'm none too keen on it either, Troy, but there's actually more risk if we tried it at night with the guards everywhere. Colonel Beck keeps things well buttoned up once the sun goes down."
Troy nodded. "Hitch will be handling the explosives. Me and Tully will be watching your back from the wall. Be careful."
Moffitt smiled. "Right. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Troy watched as Moffitt walked across camp, said a few words to Hitch and Tully, then got into a stolen German staff car and drove off.
Troy, Hitch, and Tully went to the top of a hill to watch the car approach Colonel Beck's stronghold. Once Moffitt was allowed inside, they went to work.
##################
Hitch worked quickly to finish wiring the explosive charges to their timers. "I'm ready to go, sarge."
Troy nodded. "Did you make sure the timers are staggered?"
"Two minute intervals just like you said."
"Okay, get going. Be careful." Hitch gave a nod and headed out. Troy turned to Tully and said, "Ready to go?"
Tully said, "Just say the word.
Sergeant Troy led the way across the expanse of desert between their camp and Colonel Beck's stronghold. They had done their recon for days before and had discovered that no guards were on the walls during the day. With the ropes and grappling hooks they'd brought with them they scaled the wall well out of sight of the guard shack at the gate.
Troy and Tully lay on their bellies, making themselves as invisible as possible to the guards below. They spotted the staff car Moffitt had used in front of headquarters and knew that the sergeant had already gone inside.
##################
Moffitt didn't hesitate as he entered headquarters and went to the stairs that would take him to Colonel Beck's office. Headquarters was bustling and it had to look as if he knew what he was doing, so as not to attract attention to himself. At the top of the stairs, Moffitt turned right and walked down the hallway to the third office on the left.
The door was open and the office was a hub of activity with secretaries busily taking notes and answering phones as people discussed plans with the Colonel as he sat at his desk. Moffitt walked in and moved quickly through the crowd of people to the back of the office.
As he approached the cupboards he knew the documents he came for was in, Moffitt saw a rather harried intern rifling through some paperwork. When the sergeant got up beside him he could hear impatient German voices demanding the requested documents. Without looking at the young man, Moffitt asked quietly what he was looking for, "Wonach suchen Sie?"
The panic stricken German whispered, "Eine Anweisung gekennzeichnet 'Homs'."
Moffitt began looking in another part of the cupboard and found a folder marked "Homs." He handed it to the young man, who smiled gratefully as he turned to take it to his superior. As soon as he was alone, Moffitt began to look for the documents he was sent in to get.
##################
Tully glanced at his watch. It had been a little more than a half-hour since Moffitt had gone inside German headquarters. Tully whispered, "He should be just about done."
Troy simply nodded and remained silent. He looked around and could just make out Hitch's form as he moved quickly to set the remainder of the charges.
##################
Hitch moved swiftly, stealthily, as he set the charges and the timers. Two patrols had circled the stronghold, but he was easily able to stay out of sight of the Germans. He knew where Troy and Tully were on the wall, but he couldn't see them, which, in his opinion, was a good thing.
After setting the last charge at the base of the wall, Hitch checked his watch and headed back to the jeeps.
##################
Moffitt was about to begin to worry that the folder he needed wasn't there, when he suddenly found it and quickly slipped it into the German lieutenant's jacket he was wearing and turned to leave. Then a captain looked at Moffitt and ordered him to run some documents down to the typing pool.
Moffitt took the paperwork and mumbled, "Ja, Herr." Then he headed for the door.
In the hallway, Moffitt dropped the paperwork on the first small table he came to and hurried towards the stairs. From behind a German voice ordered him to halt.
Moffitt turned and confronted the officer who was questioning why the paperwork was being left in the hall. He shrugged as the German stood in front of him. Just as the German was going off on a tirade, Moffitt smashed a fist into the unsuspecting officer's face. As he fell, a German secretary rounded the corner at the top of the stairs and screamed.
##################
Outside, on the wall, Troy and Tully saw German soldiers run into headquarters. They looked at each other and held their breath as they waited. A minute later Troy and Tully saw Moffitt hurry around a corner outside headquarters. As the sergeant walked quickly across the courtyard, alarms began to blare and guards ran from the building.
An officer stepped outside and quickly identified Moffitt, pointing him out to the soldiers swarming the area. Moffitt ran for cover while Troy and Tully stood up to lay down cover fire.
##################
Hitch heard the alarms and then the shooting, and knew something had gone wrong. The explosives were due to go off any second. They were set to cause damage and act as a distraction to insure Moffitt's escape. Standing on the hill with binoculars, Hitch searched the landscape for his three friends.
The first of the explosive charges went off as scheduled. Two minutes later another explosion rocked the walls, then another, and another … until Hitch had accounted for each.
The explosions seemed to go on forever. As the dust began to dissipate, Hitch checked the rocky mess for any sign of Troy, Moffitt, and Tully. A minute later he saw a dark spot running away from the broken stronghold, heading for the dunes.
##################
Troy and Tully weren't supposed to be on the wall at that point. They were supposed to be on the ground, making sure Moffitt got out. But one thing led to another and they found themselves caught on the wall when the charges went off.
There was a lot of confusion, which was part of their original plan, but now Troy and Tully were trapped on the wall as it began to crumble under them. They wouldn't remember the actual fall, but when they hit the ground, they were momentarily disoriented with the breath knocked out of them.
Then Troy picked Tully's scream out of the din and was on his feet in an instant. He peered through the dust and located Tully on the ground trying to push debris off his legs. Troy quickly got to the private, got the broken stones and dirt off of him, before dragging him to cover.
##################
Hitch took a jeep and went to pick up Moffitt. When he found the sergeant, he was still brushing dust off the German uniform he wore. "Did you get it?"
Moffitt nodded as he got into the jeep. "I got it, but things went awry when I was on my way out. I know Troy and Tully were laying down cover fire, but I don't know if they were able to get out."
"I haven't seen 'em yet. Maybe they're back at camp by now."
When Hitch drove into camp, there was no sign of Troy or Tully. Hitch ran to the top of the hill with binoculars while Moffitt striped off the uniform in favor of his own clothes. Then he hid the documents in the small space under the seat of the jeep.
Moffitt hiked up to join Hitch on the hill with a second set of binoculars. "See anything?"
Hitch shook his head as he popped small bubbles with his teeth. "Just confusion."
Moffitt scanned the area and said, "I know they were on the wall giving me cover when the explosions went off."
"Maybe my timing was off…"
"You did exactly what Troy told you to do. If they're inside now, let's hope they found a place to hide."
Hitch asked, "How long are we gonna wait?"
Moffitt said, "We'll keep an eye on things until the sun goes down. If they don't show up, we'll go in after them."
##################
Troy got himself and Tully hidden inside a basement under a portion of the German's supply depot.
Tully panted as he asked, "Do you think … they saw us?"
Troy threw the bolt on the door they entered through and moved towards the second door that went into the depot above. "I don't think they noticed us in all the confusion after Hitch's charges went off." He carefully cracked the door open and peeked around. There was no one in sight, so he quietly closed and barred the door. "Looks like duty stations have be abandoned. No one seems to be looking for us. At least not yet." Troy knelt next to Tully as the private tore open the bloodied leg of his pants. "How's it look?"
Tully grimaced. "Oh, I've seen worse, sarge." There was a small ragged end of bone sticking out of the skin of Tully's leg several inches below his left knee. "I felt something hit me in the leg. Thought it was a bullet…"
Troy laid his machine gun aside to examine the wound. "Must've happened during the fall." He slipped over to the small ground level window to check on the chaos. Then Troy said, "I'm going upstairs to see what I can find."
Tully shook his head. "Sarge…"
"Just sit tight. I'll only be a few minutes."
Troy went to the door and silently unbarred it. He crawled through and looked around. Seeing no one, he stood and quickly went to the front door that had been left open when every available German rushed to assist their comrades. Troy closed it, then made his way to the back to where he would find the supplies he would need.
He moved quickly, finding medical bags and drugs. Troy moved the things to the basement door and went back for blankets, flashlights, and water. With everything he thought he would need, he moved it all into the basement and again barred the door.
Troy knelt beside Tully and said, "They must've taken in supplies in the last few days. I found everything we need."
Tully closed his eyes against the pain that radiated through his broken leg. "What're we gonna do?
Troy began to lay out what he needed to set and splint Tully's leg. "We're going to wait. We'll stay hidden until it gets dark." He looked at the injured private. "Do you think you can give me some help here?"
Tully took a breath and nodded. "What do you want me to do?"
Troy handed him the splints and said, "As soon as the bone moves back to where it belongs, you need to get those splints in place…"
Tully took the two splints and nodded. Troy took a third that fitted down the calf and over Tully's heel. With it in place, he took hold of Tully's foot and ankle and counted to three. Then Troy began to steadily pull until the exposed bone disappeared under the skin. "Okay, Tully, get the splints on."
Shaking with pain, Tully ground his teeth and groaned as he placed the two splints on either side of his leg, then fumbled with the buckle until he finally got it taken care of.
With that done, Troy slowly released the leg and was relieved that the device held. He looked at the sweat and tears that streaked Tully's pained face and said, "Just take it easy now. I'll get the rest of it taken care of."
##################
Moffitt again joined Hitch on the hill. "How are things going?"
Hitch said, "They're slowly making progress to clean up the mess. It's just a good thing I wasn't looking to bring down walls completely."
"Yes, hopefully Troy and Tully were able to find a place to hide."
"There hasn't been any signs that they've taken prisoners. Maybe they figured you were working alone."
Moffitt smiled. "I doubt that. Chances are they haven't found out what I took from them yet. And hopefully they won't until it's too late."
Hitch asked, "Were you able to get through to headquarters?"
Moffitt's smile faded as he scanned the landscape with binoculars. "I'm afraid we're on our own this time."
##################
Troy cleaned, stitched, bandaged, and completed the splinting of Tully's leg. The private had remained silent for the most part, only letting an occasional groan or gasp escape. Finally, the ordeal was over and Troy helped Tully lay down before giving him a shot of morphine. "Okay, you just rest for now." He damped a kerchief and wiped Tully's face as he said, "It won't be dark for a few more hours and we can't even think about trying anything until then."
Once the morphine kicked in and allowed Tully to relax, Troy went back to the window to watch the German's work. Their little hiding place under the supply depot seemed to be in the middle of much of the activity.
As the sun went down, the goings on outside seems to slack off. Troy heard the door upstairs as several people entered the building. He could make out muffled German voices for several minutes, then he heard the door again and things got quiet.
A short time later Troy heard a quiet groan in the growing darkness as Tully woke up. He went to the private to check on him. "How's it going, Tully?"
With some help, he managed to sit up as he gritted his teeth and said, "It's goin', sarge." Tully leaned on the wall and looked up at the window. "Anything going on out there?"
Troy glanced at the window too, and said, "It's gotten quiet. They seem to have closed down the cleanup operations for the night." He noticed a spasm and Tully hissed with pain. "Ready for another shot of morphine?"
Tully shook his head. "It's almost dark. We'll be moving out of here soon…"
Troy pulled a med kit over and clicked on one of the flashlights. "We're not going anywhere until I can find us some transportation. How about a half-dose?" Tully started to shake his head and the sergeant said, "Humor me."
"Do you think Moffitt and Hitch will come in to get us?"
After giving the private the shot, Troy turned off the flashlight and picked up a can of water. As he opened it, he said, "I know they shouldn't … but they probably will." Troy took a sip and handed the can to Tully. He waited for Tully to set the can aside, they put his pistol in his shaky hand. "I'm going to go out and take a look around. If anyone that looks remotely German sticks their head in … shoot 'em."
Tully nodded. "Right, sarge."
##################
Moffitt looked up at the dark sky and the crescent moon on the horizon. He took one last look at the stronghold and said, "Looks like they've suspended activities for the night. They've place guards around the damaged areas, but that's it."
Hitch primed his machine gun as he prepared to head out. "They seem awfully sure that there's no one out here to attack them when they're vulnerable."
"They did send out several patrols. Colonel Beck tends to be a bit over confident. He probably thinks I'm either dead or somehow got out. I'm guessing he doesn't think we've stuck around."
"Do you really think Troy and Tully were able to avoid capture?"
Moffitt nodded. "The Germans aren't exhibiting any signs that they expect anyone, so my guess is that they don't realize what's hiding under their very noses." He looked at Hitch and said, "Ready to go?"
The private nodded. "All set."
##################
Troy exited the basement door to the outside. It was eerily quiet and dark. He did hear booted feet as he silently closed the door and stayed down as he watched the shadowy figures march by. Once he was sure the coast was clear, Troy headed out, staying close to the buildings where he could quickly duck for cover.
Two blocks away, Troy spotted the shape of a German halftrack. He stared at it longingly before ducking into an alley when he heard troops coming his way. Troy sighed as he thought about how he was going to get the halftrack to the supply depot and Tully into it without drawing attention to them. He was beginning to silently hope that he'd run into Moffitt and Hitch along the way.
##################
In the dark, Moffitt and Hitch quickly made their way to the stronghold. The thin moon was giving off very little in the way of light, and they were able to slip in through a hole that had been blown in the wall when the guards had their backs turned.
Silently Moffitt led the way to a section of wall where he was fairly sure Troy and Tully had been stationed. The sergeant whispered, "I believe they would've come down in this area. If they got away, they'll be hiding nearby."
As Moffitt and Hitch moved carefully about, trying doors and peering in through darkened windows, the sergeant saw a lone figure come out of an alley. There was something familiar about the crouched stance and the hat he wore. Moffitt pointed the person out to Hitch and they both smiled.
##################
Troy sensed he was being followed and ducked into another alley in hopes of losing whoever it was. He blended into the shadows, waiting for the person to pass by. When they did, Troy smiled and called quietly, "Moffitt!" Both the sergeant and Hitch spun in the direction of the voice, then quickly joined Troy, who whispered, "You shouldn't be here, but I'm glad you are."
Hitch asked, "Where's Tully?"
"Broken leg. I'm trying to find us some transportation out of here. There's a halftrack just up the street."
Moffitt shook his head. "Too conspicuous this time of night."
"I'm open to suggestions."
"Hitch and I passed a dirt hauler on our way here. Makes a little more sense that it might be moving about."
Troy nodded. "Right. Lead on."
##################
Tully sat quietly in the darkness of the basement. He hadn't heard anything to indicate that Troy had been caught, but the sergeant had been gone a long time.
Then there was suddenly a sound at the door Troy had left through. As it swung open, Tully dragged himself behind a crate and into a corner. He heard voices say in German something about searching for any trapped Americans. Colonel Beck seemed to think someone may still be hiding within the stronghold, though one of the guards felt the search was a waste of time.
Tully watched as a flashlight beam made its way around the small room. It passed above him, in front of him, and directly onto the crate he was behind, but the two soldiers didn't come into the basement. When Tully heard the door close, he breathed a sigh of relief.
##################
Moffitt led Troy and Hitch back to where a dirt hauling truck sat. Before crossing the street, Troy looked around and whispered, "Moffitt, you drive in case we get stopped. Hitch, you're in the back."
Troy got in beside Moffitt as the sergeant exchanged his beret for the German cap that was on the seat and gave him directions to the supply depot. However, they didn't get far before they were stopped by a set of guards on their rounds. Troy silently slid to the floor as he heard a German begin to ask questions as they approached. After maybe thirty seconds, Moffitt again started the engine and drove away.
Troy waited a bit, then asked, "What'd they want?"
Moffitt stared straight ahead as he replied quietly, "Just wondering what I was doing. I told them Colonel Beck wanted everything ready to begin work at first light."
At the supply depot, Moffitt drove into the alley and stopped. Troy said, "Okay, wait here. Hitch and I'll get Tully."
Hitch followed the sergeant to the basement door. He watched Troy reach for the handle, then stop. "What's wrong?"
Troy said, "Door's ajar. Someone's been here."
Inside, Tully tensed at the sound of the door opening again. He cocked the gun and waited. A beam of light flashed around and a familiar voice called quietly, "Tully?"
The private shifted painfully to peek over the crate. "Sarge?"
Troy and Hitch made their way over to Tully's hiding place. Troy said, "Looks like you had company."
"Yeah." Tully released the cocking mechanism. "The colonel thinks we may still be here."
"Let's get out of here before they figure out that we really are."
Troy and Hitch got Tully to his feet. Then, after grabbing the medical bags and blankets, they headed out to the truck.
Tully managed to hang on and keep himself upright while Troy and Hitch scrambled into the back. They turned and reached for Tully's hands as Hitch said, "Don't try to help. Let us do the work."
Once they had him in, Troy slapped the top of the cab to let Moffitt know to get them out of there.
Moffitt started out slowly, trying to not draw attention to them, but as they neared the gate, which was their only exit, something went wrong. Someone started calling out for them to halt. Without a second look Moffitt stomped down on the accelerator and, at full speed, crashed through the gate in a hail of gunfire.
By the time the Germans could rally to give chase, Moffitt had them back at the jeeps. As the truck pulled to a stop, Troy said, "Hitch, on the hill. I want to know if they're trying to come after us."
The private jumped out and grabbed binoculars before heading up. Troy looked down at Tully as Moffitt said, "How's he doing?"
Troy said, "He's unconscious. Let's get him into a jeep so we can get out of here." They carefully moved Tully into the back of a jeep, making him as comfortable as possible with blankets. While Moffitt gave Tully a shot of morphine, Troy looked up at Hitch and asked, "How's it look out there?"
Hitch said, "The place is lit up with searchlights, sarge. They seem to be making a go at looking for us, but mostly they're running circles around each other."
Troy sighed. "Okay, let's shake it. We'll find some cover and wait out the night."
##################
They drove until they found a wadi to hide in. Tully had remained unconscious throughout the rough ride through the desert. They got him out of the jeep, wrapped him in blankets, and elevated his broken leg. They built a fire and waited for morning.
It was barely daylight, the sun wasn't even a glint on the horizon yet. Hitch was on watch and Moffitt was tending to Tully when Troy walked over. "How's he doing?"
Moffitt said, "All things considered, not too badly. There's no fever. Did you get any sleep?"
"I dozed some. How 'bout you?"
"The same."
A gasp of pain came from Tully as he regained consciousness. Troy put a hand on his shoulder. "Easy, Tully."
He slowly looked around. "Where are we?"
"In a wadi about fifty miles from Colonel Beck's stronghold."
Moffitt readied another shot of morphine and said, "As soon as it's light enough, we'll get you to a field hospital."
Tully grimaced against the pain that flared through his leg. "What happened?"
Troy frowned worriedly. "Don't you remember?"
"Yeah, I remember what happened … but … what happened? We had it all planned out. What went wrong?"
Moffitt gave Tully the shot and smiled. "Ah … the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
Tully tried to figure out what the sergeant had said in his befuddled mind. "What's that mean?"
Troy smiled. "It means … that sometimes, no matter how much planning you do, something's gonna go wrong."
"So I didn't…"
"Nope. Not you, not Hitch, not Moffitt or me. We each did what we were supposed to do, but it just didn't work completely to plan."
Moffitt pulled the blankets up around Tully's shoulders. "But we did get the documents High Command wants."
Tully's eyes fell closed. "Good."
Troy said, "You just rest up. We'll be going in a couple more hours." The sergeants went over to build up the fire and start coffee. "Why do we do that?"
Moffitt stirred the coals and added wood. "Do what?"
"When a mission goes wrong in some way, we all blame ourselves for what happened."
Moffitt stood up. "Perhaps it's just our way of coping with the situation. We want to place blame, but don't know where, so we blame ourselves."
Troy sighed. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."
"Now, why don't you put the kettle on and I'll go spell Hitch. You're way too tense right now."
Troy chuckled. "Like you aren't 'tense' too? I'll relax when Tully sees a doctor."
Moffitt picked up a machine gun. "Your right of course. None of us will relax until we know without a doubt that everything will be back to normal soon."
Moffitt walked away. Troy looked at Tully as the private shifted uncomfortably. "Normal? I'm not sure which 'normal' we're talking about."